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The Islamic regime that came to power after the 1978-79 Iranian revolution justified the rule of the Ayatollah Khomeini, and the Shi'ite <em>imams in general, on the basis of the doctrine that the Islamic jurist is best suited to rule with justice in an Islamic country. Arguing that this concept has no apparent parallel in Sunni Islam, this study explores its origins in the Sunni/Shi'ite schism, which took place after the death of the Prophet, and traces its evolution to the present day. Drawing on exhaustive research in the Islamic libraries of Iran and Jordan, as well as discussions with leading jurors and scholars in Iran, Sachedina presents the first in-depth analysis of an Islamic phenomenon of vital contemporary social and political significance.
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The Just Ruler (al-sultan al-adil) in Shiite Islam This page intentionally left blank The Just Ruler (al-sultan al-'adil) in Sh 'ite Islam The Comprehensive Authority of the Jurist in Imamite Jurisprudence Abdulaziz Abdulhussein Sachedina OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS New York Oxford Oxford University Press Oxford New York Athens Auckland Bangkok Bogot4 Buenos Aires Calcutta Cape Town Chennai Dar es Salaam Delhi Florence Hong Kong Istanbul Karachi Kuala Lumpur Madrid Melbourne Mexico City Mumbai Nairobi Paris Sao Paulo Singapore Taipei Tokyo Toronto Warsaw and associated companies in Berlin Ibadan Copyright © 1988 by Abdulaziz A. Sachedina First published in 1988 by Oxford University Press, Inc. 198 Madison Avenue, New York, New York 10016 First issued as an Oxford University Press paperback, 1998. Oxford is a registered trademark of Oxford University Press All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of Oxford University Press. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Sachedina, Abdulaziz Abdulhussein, 1942The just ruler (al-sultan al-'adil) in Shi'ite Islam: the comprehensive authority of the jurist in Imamite jurisprudence / Abdulaziz Abdulhussein Sachedina. p. cm. Bibliography: p. Includes index. ISBNO-19-505363-X; ISBN 0-19-511915-0 (pbk.) 1. Islam and State. 2. Temporal power of religious rulers. 3. Shl'ah—Doctrines. I. Title. II. Title: Sultan al-'adil in Shi'ite Islam. JC49.S162 1988 297'.1977—dc!9 87-28591 1 3 5 7 9 8 6 4 2 Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper Dedicated to The Awaited Just Ruler (al-sultdn al-'adil al-muntazar) This page intentionally left blank PREFACE I began research on this book in 1978-79 when I was writing sections of my earlier work, Islamic Messianism, in Mashhad, Iran. This was when Iran was going through the Islamic revolution. Under those circumstances I had the rare opportunity to participate in much of the academic as well as the popular discussion that was centered around the subject of Islamic government and the authority of the Imamite jurist in the absence of the twelfth Imam. I had drawn up a rough plan of research on the Just Ruler in Twelver Shiism. For this research I returned to Iran in January 1983. I had realized in 1980 that library research on the subject would be incomplete without engaging in discussion with Imamite jurists in Iran. Accordingly, in 1983, for almost six months, I spent my mornings in the library of the late Ayatullah Milan!, housed at his son Sayyid Muhammad 'All's house in Mashhad, going through the Imamite jurisprudence in its entirety with the Ayatullah's grandson, Sayyid Fadil Milani. During these morning hours I joined the scholars who visited the late Ayatullah's residence regularly to raise some of the issues that were relevant to the concept of wilayat al-faqih (the discretionary authorit